GetReal Security is the world’s leading authority on malicious digital content and deepfake protection. The company serves enterprises, governments, and news organizations, offering advanced solutions to verify, authenticate digital content files, and secure real-time communication streams to restore trust in digital communications. Pulse 2.0 interviewed GetReal CEO Matt Moynahan to gain a deeper understanding of the company.
Matt Moynahan’s Background
What is Matt Moynahan’s background? Moynahan said:
“I’ve been working in cybersecurity for nearly 30 years, leading companies through periods of transformation and growth in response to a constantly evolving threat landscape. I’m currently the CEO of GetReal Security, where our mission is to protect enterprises, governments, and media from AI-powered deception, deepfake fraud, and identity manipulation — threats that strike at the very foundation of digital trust.“
“Prior to GetReal, I was the CEO of OneSpan, a publicly traded cybersecurity company. I led the business through a significant transformation — shifting our focus to cloud-based transaction security services and driving renewed growth. Prior to that, I served as CEO of Forcepoint, where I transitioned the company from a legacy on-prem model to a cloud-consumption business, resulting in record-breaking growth. Importantly, our focus was on delivering human-centric security which is very relevant to our mission at GetReal.”
“Earlier in my career, I also led Veracode, one of the early pioneers in application security. Across every role, I’ve remained focused on building resilient, forward-looking cybersecurity businesses that empower customers to stay ahead of emerging threats.“
Formation Of The Company
How did the idea for the company come together? Moynahan shared:
“The idea for GetReal came together at a critical moment — when it became clear that AI-generated content was poised to fundamentally change the threat landscape. Over the last few decades, we’ve seen cyber threats evolve from viruses to phishing to highly targeted, socially engineered attacks. But the rise of generative AI and deepfakes marks a new chapter. It’s arguably the most pervasive and dangerous threat we’ve seen yet, because it erodes something even more foundational: trust.”
“The company is rooted in the work of our co-founder and Chief Science Officer, Dr. Hany Farid, a world-renowned expert in digital forensics who has spent decades helping media outlets, legal teams, and government agencies verify the authenticity of digital content — long before the term ‘deepfake’ even existed. But that level of expertise wasn’t scalable. That’s where the idea for GetReal was born: to take Hany’s investigative process and transform it into an enterprise-grade platform capable of helping organizations verify and authenticate digital content at scale and in real time.”
“Combating this new generation of AI-powered threats requires the combined forces of cybersecurity, AI, and digital forensics. That’s why we built a multidisciplinary team — bringing together Hany’s world-class digital forensics experience with deep cybersecurity expertise.”
“GetReal sits at the intersection of cybersecurity, digital forensics, and AI. What sets us apart is this blend of domain expertise — it’s what makes us uniquely positioned to address the threat of AI-generated manipulation and equip enterprises with the tools they need to rebuild trust in digital communications.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Moynahan reflected:
“Even though I have only been here for about nine months, I have so many favorite memories. We are at an exciting stage in our journey where there are so many firsts ahead of us. Clearly signing our first customer and having a very successful Series A financing round were big milestones. That said, my favorite memories are associated with the talented team we have here – and bearing witness to the tremendous impact our teammates make on our culture and the security of our customers.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Moynahan explained:
“GetReal’s unified platform is an automated forensic analysis platform that helps enterprises, government agencies and media organizations manage risk and mitigate threats from the growing presence of AI-fueled attacks. The platform brings together our products and service offerings into a unified digital experience for users, providing the infrastructure to accommodate all modalities (image, audio and video) for both files and real-time digital communication streams.”
“Our platform integrates our services and products into a single, cohesive platform for its users. Featuring a web-based UI, API access, and third-party integrations, it automates media analysis using AI, statistical methods, and digital forensics. Services and solutions include:
— GetReal Prepare provides organizations with a holistic view of current threat exposure through its readiness assessment. GetReal’s cybersecurity veterans work with executive leadership to formulate an organization-wide action plan that includes policy development and awareness training for the organization.
— GetReal Inspect empowers organizations to safeguard their executives, employees, and their brand with automated, on-demand forensic analysis to authenticate and verify audio, video, voice, and image files.
— GetReal Protect delivers real-time analysis and alerts of audio and video streams to prevent bad actors at the onset before they can infiltrate an organization and cause further damage.
— GetReal Respond is a service that gives subscribers direct access to some of the world’s most trusted digital media forensics and cybersecurity experts. Subscribers can escalate urgent, complex, and mission-critical deepfake investigations to GetReal digital media forensics experts who provide comprehensive forensic reports delivered within strict SLAs and guidance for handling the deepfake incident.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have you and the GetReal team faced in building the company? Moynahan acknowledged:
“One of the most significant challenges we’re facing is the unprecedented speed, sophistication, and accessibility of generative AI tools used to create synthetic content and malicious deepfakes. What once required technical expertise and significant resources can now be done with minimal effort using off-the-shelf tools or open-source models. It’s never been easier — or faster — to manipulate images, audio, and video in ways that are nearly indistinguishable from reality.”
“This ease of access has dramatically accelerated the scale and frequency of deepfake and identity-based attacks. We’re seeing threat actors—from cybercriminals to nation-state groups—using these capabilities to impersonate executives, mislead journalists, manipulate public opinion, and bypass traditional security controls. These attacks don’t just target individuals; they undermine the very foundation of digital trust across enterprises, governments, and the media.”
“The challenge isn’t just detecting what’s fake — it’s keeping pace with a threat landscape that is evolving in real time, powered by the same generative technologies that many organizations are racing to adopt. As a result, defending against AI-powered deception has become both a technical and strategic imperative.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since its launch? Moynahan noted:
“The biggest evolution has been putting in place a long-term strategic direction and aligning the entire company behind that – including our product teams and roadmap. We have also gained a much deeper understanding through conversations with our customers on their pain points and how best to address those issues not only today, but in the future as genAI continues to evolve.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Moynahan cited:
“One of the most recent significant milestones for GetReal Security was the close of our Series A funding round, which provided the resources needed to accelerate product development, grow our threat research team, and bring our platform to market.”
“Shortly after, we officially launched our unified platform — a first-of-its-kind solution purpose-built to detect and defend against AI-powered threats like deepfakes, impersonation attacks, and synthetic media. This launch marked a major step forward in helping enterprises regain trust in digital communications and stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated adversaries leveraging generative AI. Together, these milestones position us to lead the charge against one of the most pervasive security threats of our time.”
Customer Success Stories
When asking Moynahan about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“We have had several both in Government as well as the Commercial segments. Certainly some of our earliest customer wins like Visa and John Deere were incredibly satisfying as they were investing in the team and our approach as much as the technology itself.”
Funding
When asking Moynahan about the company’s funding and revenue details, he revealed:
“Earlier this year, we closed a $17.5 million Series A funding round led by global cybersecurity and AI investment firm Forgepoint Capital with participation from Ballistic Ventures, Evolution Equity, and K2 Access Fund as well as strategic investors In-Q-Tel (IQT), Cisco Investments and Capital One Ventures.”
“This funding comes at a critical inflection point for the industry. As AI adoption accelerates, so does the risk of AI-generated content being weaponized to manipulate people and systems at scale. Enterprises are now facing a new class of attacks that erode trust in digital communication — deceiving employees, tricking executives, and misleading customers. With nearly every organization relying on digital channels to operate, this shift poses a fundamental challenge to business integrity and decision-making. The investment enables us to meet this moment by scaling our ability to detect and stop these threats before they cause harm — protecting organizations from a new wave of AI-powered deception.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Moynahan assessed:
“We believe this space is as big if not bigger than the email security market which is between $10 billion to $12 billion. When you think of it – deepfakes and impersonation attacks are also identity-related security threats so we believe this makes the addressable market even larger than that.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Moynahan affirmed:
“What sets GetReal Security apart is our foundation in digital forensics and our commitment to explainability. We were co-founded by Dr. Hany Farid—the preeminent digital forensics expert in the field—and that forensics pedigree shapes everything we do. Unlike many solutions that rely on black-box AI to deliver a binary pass/fail verdict on content authenticity, our platform uses a forensics-first approach that surfaces why something is real or fake, backed by clear, detailed evidence. That’s essential for security analysts, legal teams, and journalists who need to trust and defend decisions made under pressure.”
“Our platform automates a suite of multi-dimensional forensic assessment ‘lenses’ to detect manipulation in images, video, and audio—whether live or pre-recorded. These lenses give users the transparency and confidence to act fast, and the rigor to stand up to scrutiny in a boardroom or courtroom.”
“Equally important is our team: a unique blend of experts in digital forensics, cybersecurity, and AI. That cross-functional DNA ensures we’re not just building cutting-edge tech, but delivering it in a way that fits seamlessly into enterprise security workflows—reducing total cost of ownership and accelerating time to deployment. In short, we’re not just spotting fakes—we’re enabling real protection.”
Company’s Future Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Moynahan emphasised:
“We have aspirations to solve this problem for our customers at Internet-scale. We believe that everyone – regardless of political affiliation, country of origin or type of employment deserves the security of knowing that the information they are consuming to make decisions – whether it be a profile image, a voicemail or a real-time video communication – is accurate, correct and trustworthy. Looking ahead, my goal is for us to stay true to that mission: to build exceptional products and services that not only solve today’s challenges but also foster lasting, meaningful relationships with our customers.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Moynahan concluded:
“In my decades of working in cybersecurity, I have never seen a threat quite like the one we face today. Anyone’s image, likeness, and voice can be replicated on a photorealistic level cheaply and quickly. As generative AI technology advances and the line between real and synthetic content blurs even further, so does the potential risk for companies, governments, and everyday people.”
“Right now, we’re witnessing a growing threat in the form of applicant fraud—interviewing or hiring a phony candidate with the intent of breaching an organization for financial gain or even nation-state espionage. Gartner predicts that by 2028, 25% of job candidates globally will be fake, driven largely by AI-generated profiles. Recruiters already encounter this mounting threat by noticing unnatural movements when speaking with candidates via videoconferencing.”
“For many companies, the proverbial front door is wide open to these attacks without adequate protection from deepfake candidates or ‘look-alike’ candidate swaps in the HR interview process. It’s no longer enough to just protect against the vulnerabilities in our tech stacks and internal infrastructures. We must take security a step further to address today’s uncharted AI-driven threat landscape, protecting our people and organizations from fraud and extortion before trust erodes and can no longer be restored.”
“It’s time we reassess security at every level and within every process to protect against these threats that show no signs of slowing down. Proper policies and procedures must be in place to navigate and respond to these attacks in real time. From an HR perspective, this involves awareness training on deepfakes, policy development, and implementing solution deployment services throughout to prevent an attack.”
“With sophisticated tools, such as advanced audio and video content authentication and verification platforms that provide alerts if a threat of a deepfake is detected, we can also better detect and mitigate deepfakes, helping our teams understand exactly which aspects of a file are synthetic or manipulated.”
